Proposals to bring up to 65 new homes for local residents on South Kesteven District Council’s housing register have been outlined in a report to councillors.
The supply would come from a variety of sources, including new build and buying existing houses which meet the needs of residents.
A £5.5m Housing Development Investment Fund for strategic acquisitions in 2023-24 will meet the cost of projects already under way in Grantham and Stamford.
Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, Cllr Phil Dilks, said: “It is really important that that SKDC has a continual housing growth strategy with a range of options available for us to mitigate the loss of council homes being sold under Right to Buy legislation and, where possible, add to our 5,865-strong social housing stock.
“We lose an average of 50 homes a year under Right to Buy legislation and need to adopt innovative ways of mitigating this reduction and where possible increasing our stock so we can offer homes to those who need them most.
“That’s why we are promoting a hybrid approach: acquiring properties directly from developers, starting our own new build projects – and acquiring former Right to Buy properties that specifically meet the District’s housing needs.
“We are also working hard to bring more empty Council properties back into use more quickly.”
Schemes under consideration for land already owned by the Council include disused parking areas and former garage sites.
The Council has a new build pipeline for delivery of new housing:
- 20 homes at Swinegate, Grantham: building work just started
- Four units at Elizabeth Road, Stamford: work about to begin
- Planning permission in place for 21 homes at Larch Close, Grantham, work due to start June 2024
Three further schemes are at the planning stage:
- 14 (expected) homes at Wellington Way, Market Deeping, starting 2025
- Number tbc, former garage sites in Stamford, 2025-6
- Four homes (expected) Gorse Rise, Grantham, commencing 2025-6
The Housing Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting was advised that revised plans may be drawn up for the Wellington Way, Market Deeping, site to better meet the need of people on the SKDC housing register. In the Deepings, this is currently a mix of requests for one, two and three-bedroomed accommodation.
The meeting also heard how initial discussions had begun about redeveloping of a former garage site in Gorse Rise, Grantham, formerly garages demolished in 2020.
Other garage sites, including Kesteven Road in Stamford, are also earmarked for further discussion.
Budget already in place for 2023/4 is fully committed on the schemes for Swinegate and Elizabeth Road, which led to SKDC last month agreeing to amend the Housing Revenue Account for this year by an additional £1m to support acquisition opportunities.